Towards Digital Transformation of the Validation and Triage Process of Textbooks in the Brazilian Educational Policy

Abstract

One factor that impacts the quality of Brazilian education is the quality of books and other didactic materials freely distributed throughout the country to public schools, thanks to the Brazilian National Textbook Program. The current evaluation process may take at least two years to complete, involving hundreds of people, and the final result may impact the entire educational system. One of the first activities of the process is to validate and triage the editorial quality attributes of textbooks. However, the validation and triage process needs improvement, considering the gradual expansion of the quantity and variety of materials that currently affect it. This generates risks of reduced quality and timely deliveries. This paper provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the validation and triage process based on the Policy Design Arc framework of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. We identified causes that affect the quality of deliveries and the time required to conclude tasks. We also propose a theory of change for digital transformation, defining strategies to address the causes of problems, outputs, outcomes, and impacts. Therefore, we have gradually implemented our theory of change in the validation and triage process.